Raintree Montessori biting case settled

Raintree Montessori School has settled out of court a lawsuit filed in 2003 by a parent who alleged a teacher bit her 3-year-old son to show him that biting hurts.

The settlement came earlier this month as the case was about to go to trial in Douglas County District Court. Both the parent, Annie Lin, and the school's director, Lleanna McReynolds, said Monday they couldn't discuss any details of the settlement.

Scott Gunderson, a Wichita attorney who represented Raintree's insurer, said Monday that the allegations were outrageous. He said he was prepared to go to trial earlier this month when the matter was settled.

"It may be that people think sometimes that all cases are settled with the defendant paying money, but that's not always the case," he said.

Lin and her husband, Hungwei Lin, filed suit in October 2003 against the school, at 4601 Clinton Parkway. They said that on April 16, 2003, a teacher bit their son, Sydney, hard enough to leave bruises and teeth marks after Sydney bit another child.

Raintree's attorneys claimed in court documents the teeth marks had come from another child. At issue in the case, they wrote, was whether the teacher actually bit the child or "whether she merely 'mouthed' his arm to demonstrate what she felt Sydney Lin did not understand: what 'to bite' meant."